Wots in yer net mister?

The Safari's day started during Frank's early morning walk. We spotted the Tree Bees again but this time in a Copper Beech near yesterday's Sycamore...this time we were prepared and had phone-cam with us but the results under the foliage were poor. Fortunately they were still there an hour later when we set off for work with the proper camera. Only when we downloaded the pics at work we saw they weren't Tree Bees but one of the White Tailed Bumble Bee species, Bombus hortorum?

They were deffo after the honeydew left behind by the Whitefly on the underside of the leaves - anyone else noticed this behaviour? We've passed these trees almost daily for five years and not seen it before - what's going on???

Then it was out on the sea wall with the scope for a few minutes. Not a great lot doing, a cruising Gannet, a diving Gannet and at least three Common Terns (P2 #69) including one taking a fish visible at least a mile away back to the nesting colony at the docks up -river. Three Grey Seals, all a bit too distant completed the session.

The school group arrived and we set off armed with the usual nets and pots. A nice selection of beach life was found including some sizeable Green Shore Crabs.

 They also found this season's first Sand Goby.

One of the children struck gold with this Red Headed Cardinal Beetle although was determined to put it back in the water where it 'belonged' took some convincing it was aland creature that had got a little lost!

Then one of the teachers came over with a blob of jelly asking what's this? Well we didn't quite know so we put in a tub of water and waited for it to do something which eventually did

But we were still none the wiser, thinking it might be a Plumose Anemone.

Photos were sent to iSpot and DB our friendly marine biologist was over for lunch and she also thought it was probably a Plumose Anemone.

 So far no-one has come forward from iSpot but Maya Plass has confirmed the ID via Twitter so it probably is one then - we'll let the school know that they've found only the second record of this species along our coastline - nice one!!!

Another brief seawatch at lunchtime wasn't particularly productive.

But our second beach group of the day - Dad's n kids this time found more or less the same as earlier but also found a few small Blennies hiding in the higher pools; Dads allow themselves to climb up ignoring our snooker-esque one foot on the sand at all times elf n safety rule. Sadly none of these beautiful little fish could be tempted out of their hidey-holes - bacon needed next time we think!

Also up there were lots of snotty burgundy slug-like things...aka Beadlet Anemones.

A great day in the sunshine until it clouded over...and we sincerely hope that we've kindled a permanent spark in at least one of the little tykes today...now that would be a success.

Outside the Blackbird fledglings are still being fed deep in the shrubbery, and families of Great Tit, Goldfinch and Greenfinch are visiting the feeders, the Wrens are still in the nest and a Robin is singing at the far end of the garden - all is good but where are the screaming Swifts scything through the evening sky, that's a big loss to bear.

This Poppy is pretty intense though

Where to next? Day off tomorrow (no chance of an update for you, exciting things non-wildlify happening) and with it being warm still and muggy the mothy is going out.

In the meantime let us know what's being hoiked out by the netful in your outback.

Love my/your/our/the beach

The Safari joined the beach clean on the way to work this morning to do our bit to help achieve the new strict regulations. After a warm weekend we were expecting the worst but either the visiting hordes had been good and not dropped much litter or the cleansing guys had been out early because there wasn't too much. By numbers cigarette ends were the top litter item with flushable wipes second - OK they might be flushable but think on where they end up once they've disappeared round your U-bend, even if you live miles inland they can still pass through the sieving mechanisms in the sewage works and end up despoiling our beach - bin em don't flush em please.

Perhaps the strangest thing found was a Spitfire, not a real one just a little polystyrene gliding model, been in the sea a while as it had a bit of seaweed growing out of it. We weren't so keen on the plastic BB pellets easily mistaken for small planktonic things or fish eggs and eaten with dire consequences.

A medium sized claw of an Edible Crab was seen but numerically small Moon Jellyfish were the top scorer - there were hundreds of them.

We did our stint and headed back to the meeting place with a fairly full bag. Meeting up with the organiser a distant dark spot in the sea was a Grey Seal, it was a long way away, we were on the top of the prom and it wasn't long after low tide and the animal was well behind the surf...excuses excuses!

All in all a good morning and we'd recommend joining in with the Love My Beach scheme where-ever you are, they are to found all round our coast...Look out for the logo on a beach near you! A good social way to spend an hour on a Monday morning...we even got the T-shirt which we will wear with pride while we're out on safari even if we're nowhere near the beach.

The rest of the day didn't give us much until we got home when Wifey noticed the Blackbirds going into the garage without food. Where they making a new nest? No they weren't carrying nesting materials...we twigged the youngsters had fledged into the garage and not out into the big wide world...a rescue mission of two halves was launched. we got one out but later realised there might be more inside...after a bit of jiggery-pokery with a far too small fishing net we evicted another two.

So a day of good deads from beginning to end!

If anyone is in any doubt that good deeds need doing by certain sections of our society we suggest you watch/read this quality emotional rant, you might have seen it already but even so it's got to be worth a second look. Interesting and valid comments from some.
Late edit - this morning just after 06.00 we watched a few Tree Bees looking for all the world like they were trying to take honeydew off the Sycamore leaves - has anyone seen them doing this or something similar - any alternative hypotheses?

Where to next? Two groups on the beach tomorrow but no litter picking just rockpooling.

In the meantime let us know what's going down the drain in your outback.

Visitation to a palindrome

The Safari took Frank to a site we haven't visited for about a year, maybe more and it's not as if it's far away; couple of miles at the most.

The site was 'just' a field although for a while the local primary school adopted it as their nature area. Formerly it was pastoral farmland but used to flood quite badly and was abandoned and a big pipe draining a lot of the surrounding urban area including big underground pumps. The dog walkers took over and it was mown from edge to edge leaving nothing but short 'amenity' turf until it was decided only to mow pathways through it to save time and money. After a few years it was decided to use the space for a new woodland and boy are we short of trees here, a scheme was hatched and planting was completed in winter 2011/12.

It's looking pretty good now but we thought the ripping lines prior to planting might have turned up something a bit different from the seedbank...if it did we couldn't find it!

Not that there's anything wrong with Creeping Buttercups and Common Sorrel.

The stoop slightly left of centre is a piece of bog oak several thousand years old

Looks good for attracting a passage migrant such as a Whinchat or Tree Pipit or two in the spring and a who knows what in the autumn, just a shame it's a fraction out of our easy to reach range for a daily check. Today was House Sparrow day, there were loads of them with just one Whitethroat singing away. Gonna be good when the trees develop into scrub and beyond.

We saw our first Common Blue butterflies of the year and a few unID'd distant whites but surprisingly little else in the invertebrate line given the mild conditions.

A quick jaunt to the North Blackpool Pond Trail gave us a Bee Orchid we didn't find the other day the first flower of which was just opening. The Lesser Whitethroat here didn't stop singing all the while we were there - not paired? - and a grasshopper chirruped away in the long grass towards the railway line - summer's here at last!

We spent a good part of the afternoon studying the Wren's nest in the garden. From 38 visits the average time away from the nest foraging was 2 minutes 19 seconds, ranging between 30 seconds and a long 8 and a half minutes. No real median value but most times fell between between 30 seconds and two and a half minutes which works out roughly she's doing 440 visits a day assuming the rate remains similar throughout the day and all days are equal no matter what the weather.

Wifey came home and gave us the opportunity to nip out without Frank for an hour or so. We decided to nip over to see if there were any Great Crested Newts at the 'usual' place. No luck we only had a Smooth Newt and a Toad under the refugia but they had been moved by persons unknown and after yesterday's heavy rain both were sat in a puddle so it's not surprising there wasn't anything underneath. We had a look at the local wetland too but that has become over-vegetated and there was very little water in the ponds and certainly no sign of any newt eggs, most of the suitable leaves were high and dry. we did see a small number of tiny Frogs.

We struggled to find anything of note to point the lens at for your delectation.

Where to next? Back to Patch 2 but before that we will be attending an early morning beach clean on the way to work - wonder what we'll find that the hordes have cast away.

In the meantime let us know what's hiding among the buttercups in your outback.

And the palindrome? Mossom field...

Mostly at Base Camp all day

The Safari didn't get out today but that didn't stop any wildlifing. We were up early enough to be able to sett up the long lens outside a little nearer to the Wren's nest. At that time of the morning the sun is getting to the best position and we took advantage of it.

And what goes up must come down

When we first set up she was visiting every couple of minutes or so obviously not going far to get a beakful of food for the nippers. She took out three faecal sacs on consecutive visits but then we were distracted so didn't find out if there are more than three chicks in there which we would expect.

We're hoping for the beaks sticking out shot but fear they may have fledged before next weekend comes round.

A quick visit with Frank to the North Blackpool Pond Trail gave an opportunity to check the Bee Orchids - still no flowers but they can only be a day or two away now...still about two weeks late for here.

Unfortunately these exotic plants are growing in an area too popular with dog walkers and at least one has been broken but fortunately not totally.

We found only three others, most are very small this year.

A strong wind blew straight down the garden this arvo knocking the heat out of the sun and making flower photography almost impossible. We kept an eye on the bees, just abut the only insects flying in the conditions, and eventually spotted a Tree Bee foraging on the now fading Thrift in one of our tubs. This is the first year they've been in the garden after finding them locally only last year.

Where to next? Anything could happen tomorrow.

In the meantime let us know what's hanging upside-down in your outback

A dire wet sort of a day...must be mid-summer

The Safari got home from work and while prepping dinner we saw that the Wren was coming and going fairly frequently...time to get the camera organised. We put on the big lens to get the reach but the light wasn't good for mid June.

Still a heavy crop! 

We've been racking our brains but can't remember having a Wren's nest in any other garden we've had over the last 45+ years we've been watching wildlife. A little bit of high spped joy on an otherwise dismal day.

Another ray of sunshine was provided by this Poppy that has appeared in a tub, certainly not planted by us and the tub hasn't been dug over; it's one from last year that had geraniums in that were never going to survive the winter. Now its home to 'weeds' aka wildflowers, Ox-eye Daisy, Common Forget-me-not and Herb Robert along with the aforementioned Poppy.

Phone-cam pic

An Oystercatcher almost went over Base Camp's airspace and a Pied Wagtail flew up the hill in between the traffic while we were out with frank dodging cloud-bursts.

Patch 2 threw up a bit of a late surprise, we spotted a Greenfinch during a jaunt across the garden on an errand and realised that although we'd seen one whilst waiting for a meeting to start the other evening we hadn't twigged that it was the first of the year for the Patch (P2 #68).

The sea didn't give us too much but it's always good to watch Gannets fishing, glide...slow dow....glide...stall...bank...twist... half close wings...plummet...splash...(watch thee spot and wait)...back to the surface...splishy-splahy take-off...gain height...and off we go again; could watch them all day long quite easily.

A couple of Shelducks flew past but little else was seen.

No sign of the litter infested Pigeon today.

Where to next? Not sure what the weekend will hold, wet n windy probably but no doubt we find summat to scribble about (if you can scribble on a keyboard) in between the showers...might try for better pics of the Wren if the sun does deign to shine on us.

In the meantime let us know who's dodging the cloud-bursts in your outback.

Bits but no bats

The Safari had to visit the docs again this morning the old hands are deteriorating again - the consultant and another op probably beckons. The medical centre has surrounding area of 'Sustainable Urban Drainage' (SUDS) that last year was a blaze of colour although there were a load of the regular colourful annuals in the mix and the grasses hadn't become overly established, this year possibly because of the late season it wasn't quite spectacular but we did note that there were a good number of Ox-eye Daisies and our first Black Knapweed of the year. Also in abundance was Cuckoo Spit which we've not seen much of this year. We tried the following macro technique with the phone cam which we've recently read about on a blog somewhere (iSpot?).

Not techy enough to be able to show you the result today cos we've left our phone connecting cable at work...duhhhh
Late Edit - by the wonders of sciernce here it is better late than never..

Not much was about over the sea at lunchtime a few Gannets and Kittiwakes but top spot went to 17 Manx Shearwaters.

Mid afternoon we spotted this female Blackbird having a sneaky preen and shakedown in the Gorse hedge - taken through  a rather dirty double glazed window.

We got out to Patch 2again at teatime and enjoyed watching a dozen or more Gannets cruising around on the stiff breeze occasionally stalling into a steep dive, excellent stuff.

Then it was time to meet the Cub Scouts and let them loose on our pond...it was well and truly ransacked. Another 30 or more 3-spined Sticklebacks were removed to another place - how many more are in there...well we found a big female and some teeny-tiny fry but not the male! There wasn't much else in there a single damselfly nymph, a single Back Swimming Water Boatman and a couple of Front Swimmers and not a lot else apart from snails. Greater Pond Snails are abundant probably cos they are more or less Stickleback-proof, no large Ramshorn Snails, have they disappeared?, but a reasonable number of the smaller Keeled Ramshorn Snails including this mating pair.

Where to next? No kiddies tomorrow but we should be able to get a morning Patch 2 session in.

In the meantime let us know who's having the shake down in your outback.

Wet - could hardly get wetter!

The Safari was late in again today and it was raining heavily so we didn't venture out knowing that within an hour or so we'd be on the beach with a group of little ones...brave little ones in those conditions. Well the appointed hour drew near and half of them wisely cancelled which left the other half still prepared to venture down on to the sands. We obliged and almost before we all got to the sea wall and down the slade we were soaked to the skin. in the end we only braved the elements for about twenty minutes rather than the planned full hour - just as well cos 7 1/2 hours later bits of us are still wet! We found some nice stuff including a rather large Beadlet Anemone floating in one of the pools which found its way into the net and thence the tray where it attached itself and started to open up, another quarter hour would have seen it in its full glory but we'd have all drowned!

A few Green Shore Crabs were wrangled from the seaweed including one large enough to be scary but small enough for tiny hands to hold safely which was a big hit.

A cold and and very quick look at Patch 2 at lunchtime gave us just five immature Gannets in various stages of attaining adult plumage.

In the garden as we were leaving we saw a large number of Pigeons one of which had a yoghurt pot stuck around its neck. The pics show how a Pigeon's body moves while its head stays still and its head moves while its body remains still

Another good reason not to be dropping litter. Thankfully this bird is paired up and has no difficulty flying - yet.

Where to next? Another late start tomorrow but that entails a visit to what last year was a cracking wildflower area but because it looked messy will it have been 'tidied up' for this season?

In the meantime let us know who's picking up all the litter in your outback.